Study title

Finland 2009: Consumer Habits and Lifestyle

Dataset ID Number

FSD3171

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3171

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Koivula, Aki (University of Turku. Department of Social Research)
• Räsänen, Pekka (University of Turku. Department of Social Research)
• Sarpila, Outi (University of Turku. Department of Social Research)
• Erola, Jani (University of Turku. Department of Social Research)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Professor Terhi Anna Wilska from the University of Jyväskylä participated in planning the survey. Business students Karoliina Pitkänen and Joonas Kekki helped with data processing, and the description and documentation of the survey.

Abstract

The survey studied the lifestyle and consumer habits of Finnish people. The respondents were asked to compare their lifestyle and consumer habits to the average consumer, and to give their opinions on consumption-related issues.

The respondents were asked to evaluate their life situation at the time of the survey, in the past, and in the future on several aspects of life, such as financial situation and general welfare. They were also asked to compare their expenditure and consumer behaviour (concerning e.g. food, housing, leisure activities, alcohol, travel) to those of the average consumer. Furthermore, the respondents were asked which things and household items they considered necessary and what they would have done had they had more money. The survey carried a set of attitudinal statements about consumption and lifestyle (e.g. "I often buy things that are on sale" or "Quality is more important to me than price").

Some questions covered on what grounds respondents make decisions on economical, family or work matters. Questions on social integration measured how closely the respondents felt that they were a part of their family, workplace, Internet communities, Finnish society, European Union etc. The respondents were also asked which generation and social class they most closely identified with.

Opinions on values were measured by asking the respondents to rate the importance of various things (e.g. self-respect, world peace, prosperity, independence). Furthermore, the respondents were asked about the safety and security of their own life, relationships, European integration, Finnish society, and the world. The respondents feelings of insecurity were measured by asking them about risks at the personal level (unemployment, gambling, casual sexual encounters, etc.), and at the level of society (immigration, different types of crime, terrorism, environmental problems, etc.).

The survey contained questions about the income, expenditure, savings and debts of the respondents and the household. Quickie loan use and possible bad credit were charted. Respondents were asked about their methods of coping when short of money (borrowing, reducing expenditure, gambling, etc.)

Background variables included the respondent's gender, year of birth, marital status, household size, basic and vocational education, economic activity, occupation, party preference, experiences of unemployment, and financial circumstances as well as the number of children, occupations of the spouse and parents, and voting in elections.

Keywords

consumer goods; consumption; decision making; generations (age); household budgets; life styles; money; personal finance management; risk; values

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Consumption and consumer behaviour (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Consumer Habits and Lifestyle in Finland

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• University of Turku. Department of Social Research

Time Period Covered

2009

Collection Dates

2009-09-03 – 2009-12-17

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish people aged 18 - 74 who spoke Finnish

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

A postal survey was sent randomly to 2,500 Finns. After four rounds of reminders, 1,202 persons answered the survey.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

48.6

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

269 variables and 1202 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The data do not contain the open-ended options for questions q8, q9, q10, q11, q16, q17, q21, q22, q37, q38, and q39. Furthermore the original id-variable for the data was removed.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable that adjusts for the non-response bias based on gender and age. For each year of birth, the weights were calculated separately for men and women.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Koivula, Aki (University of Turku) & Räsänen, Pekka (University of Turku) & Sarpila, Outi (University of Turku) & Erola, Jani (University of Turku): Finland 2009: Consumer Habits and Lifestyle [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2017-06-07). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3171

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka & Erola, Jani & Kekki, Joonas & Pitkänen, Karoliina (2010). Suomi 2009. Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2009 vertailua. Working Papers in Economic Sociology. Turku: Turun yliopisto.

Aineistossa käytetty suomalainen ammattiluokitus: Ammattiluokitus 2010. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. (Aineiston alkuperäinen ammattiluokitus: ISCO-68.) http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/meta/luokitukset/ammatti/001-2010/kuvaus.html [viitattu 12.6.2017].

Aineistossa käytetty kansainvälinen luokkajako: Eriksonin-Goldthorpen luokkajako. Erikson, Robert & Goldthorpe, John 1992: The Constant Flux: a Study of Class Mobility in Industrial Societies. London: Clarendon Press

Related Publications

Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka & Erola, Jani & Kekki, Joonas & Pitkänen, Karoliina (2010). Suomi 2009. Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2009 vertailua. Working Papers in Economic Sociology. Turku: Turun yliopisto.

Sarpila, Outi (2012). Minun sukupolveni, sinun sukupolvesi. Hyvinvointikatsaus 1/2012, 14-18.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2015). WORKING PAPERS IN ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY: Suomi 2014 - kulutus ja elämäntapa: Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2014 vertailua. Turun yliopisto, sosiaalitieteiden laitos: Turku 2015.

Aro, Riikka & Wilska, Terhi-Anna (2014) Standard of living, consumption norms, and perceived necessities. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 34(9), 710-728.

Kujanen, Hanna-Mari (2012) Korkeampi kulutus, vihreämpi kuluttaja? Taloussosiologian Pro gradu -tutkielma. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Turun yliopisto.

Kuoppamäki, Sanna-Mari & Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Taipale, Sakari (2017) Ageing and consumption in Finland: The effect of age and life course stage on ecological, economical and self-indulgent consumption among late middle-agers and young adults between 1999 and 2004. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41(5), 457-464.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2014) Suomi 2014 - kulutus ja elämäntapa: Tutkimusseloste ja aineistojen 1999-2014 vertailua. Working papers in economic sociology. Turun yliopisto, Sosiaalitieteiden laitos.

Kujanen, Hanna & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2014) Korkeampi koulutus, vihreämpi kuluttaja? Ympäristövastuullisen kulutuksen tunnuspiirteet 1990-luvun lopulta 2010-luvun kynnykselle. Kulutustutkimus.Nyt 8:1, 4-22.

Kujanen, Hanna-Mari & Räsänen, Pekka & Sarpila, Outi (2013) Ovatko korkeasti koulutetut vihreämpiä kuluttajia? In Tiila Juuti, Pekka Räsänen & Outi Sarpila (toim.) Studies of Well-being and Lifestyle in Contemporary Finland. Working Papers in Economic Sociology (V). University of Turku, 107-129.

Nyrhinen, Jussi & Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Leppälä, Minna (2011) Tulevaisuuden kuluttaja: Erika 2020 -hankkeen aineistonkuvaus ja tutkimusraportti. Working paper, Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu.

Räsänen, Pekka (2010) Suomalaisten hyvinvointikokemukset 2004-2009. Teoksessa Heikki Ervasti, Susan Kuivalainen & Leo Nyqvist (toim.) Köyhyys, tulonjako ja eriarvoisuus. TCWR tutkimuksia nro 2. Turun yliopisto, 1-16.

Ansio, Susanna (2013) Opiskelijat kulutusyhteiskunnan imussa. Opiskelevien, työttömien ja työssäkäyvien nuorten kulutustottumukset 2000-luvun Suomessa- Taloussosiologian Pro gradu -tutkielma. Turun kauppakorkeakoulu, Turku.

Aro, Riikka (2017) Living standards amd changing expectations: investigating domestic necessity and environmental sustainability in an affluent society. Jyväskylä studies in education, psychology and social research 581, University of Jyväskylä

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Saarinen, Arttu (2017) Does party identification associate with consumer preferences? Analyzing Finnish consumers in 2009 and 2014. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(5), 475-483.

Koivula, Aki & Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka (2016) Internet- ja paperilomakkeiden täyttäjät: vastaustavan ja sen merkityksen tarkastelua hyvinvointitutkimuksessa. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 81(2), 54-65.

Koivula, Aki & Sarpila, Outi & Räsänen, Pekka (2015) Verkkolomakkeiden käyttö sosiaalitieteellisessä tutkimuksessa. Working Papers in Economic Sociology (VIII). University of Turku: Turku.

Koivula, Aki & Räsänen, Pekka & Saarinen, Arttu (2016) Political Orientation and Consumer Preferences. Working Papers in Economic Sociology (VIII) University of Turku: Turku.

Korhonen, S. (2015) Kauneusleikkaukseen vai ei? Suomalaisten asenteet plastiikkakirurgiaa kohtaan vuosina 2009 ja 2014. Taloussosiologian pro gradu -tutkielma. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Turun yliopisto: Turku.

Näsi, Matti (2013) Changing Media Preferences? Nordicom Review 34(2), 77-92.

Näsi, Matti (2013) ICT Disparities in Finland - Access and Implications. Turun yliopisto. Sosiaalitieteiden laitos. Taloussosiologia. Turku.

Näsi, Matti & Räsänen, Pekka & Lehdonvirta, Vili (2011) Identification with online and offline communities: Understanding ICT disparities in Finland. Technology in Society 33(1-2), 4-11.

Räsänen, Pekka & Näsi, Matti & Sarpila, Outi (2012) Old and new sources of risk: A study of societal risk perception in Finland. Journal of Risk Research 15:7, 755-769.

Sarpila, Outi & Haanpää, Leena (2010) "Rikas mies jos oisin". Luksustuotteet osana suomalaisten vapaavalintaista kulutusta koskevia haaveita. Teoksessa Minna Lammi, Liisa Peura-Kapanen & Päivi Timonen (toim.) Kulutuksen määrät ja tyylit talouden muutoksissa. Kuluttajatutkimuskeskuksen vuosikirja 2010. Helsinki: Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus, 42-58.

Sarpila, O. & Pajunen, T. & Kekäläinen, S. & Åberg, E. (2017) Onko ulkonäön arvostus nousussa Suomessa? Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 82(1), 86-93.

Vinnari, M. & Räsänen, P. & Jokinen, P. (2015) Attitudes towards Farm Animals as a Part of Belief Systems. Anthrozoös 26(1), 111-123.

Sutinen, Sini (2019). Yhteiskuntaluokka ja kulutus. Suomalaisten eettinen kuluttaminen 1999-2014. Tampereen yliopisto. Yhteiskuntatutkimuksen kandidaatintutkielma.